Chapter 86 Who is a friend?

The carriage jolted for a long time and finally stopped after entering a large workshop in the town of Saint-Antoine.

Mirabeau got out of the car and smelled a pungent smell of chemicals.

He raised his eyes and saw in the distance a row of "boiling pots" larger than stone mills. Yellow-white mist emitted, covering half of the workshop.

Under the work shed in front is a huge square pool with several wooden sticks hanging on it, and there seem to be wooden slats intertwined in between.

There were more than a dozen workers whose arms were red and swollen from the chemicals. They worked together to move something out of the pool, carefully placed it on a wooden frame about one person tall next to it, and then returned to the pool to start stirring.

Mirabeau covered his nose and frowned. What was the crown prince thinking? They actually arranged the meeting place in the papermaking workshop...

He was complaining in his heart when he saw a middle-aged man with a big nose and wearing a black short coat coming over. He warmly touched his chest and greeted: "Oh, Count Mirabeau, I'm glad to see you here. .Although the smell is a bit unpleasant, I believe you will like it in a while."

Mirabeau smiled brightly and raised his hat in return: "Nice to see you too, Mr. Dupont."

He took a few steps forward, lowered his voice and said, "Where is that person?"

Dupont pulled him around the large pool and pointed to a wooden frame filled with mist: "Your Highness has been waiting for you for a long time."

Only then did Mirabeau see a young man standing on a wooden frame that was as tall as one person. His clothes were clearly different from those around him.

He curled his lips, moved his chubby legs, walked over quickly, bowed to the young man and said, "It's an honor to meet you, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Dupont was busy introducing: "Your Highness, this is Count Mirabeau."

Joseph turned to look at Mirabeau, one of the founders of the National Assembly during the French Revolution, a very important politician in the current meeting of dignitaries, and a leader of the capital aristocracy. It is also a key point in his fight against the High Court.

He jumped down from the wooden frame and raised his hat to Mirabeau:

"Oh, great, you are finally here, Count Mirabeau."

The surrounding workers were separated by guards in plain clothes, but they did not hear the conversation between the three.

Mirabeau asked curiously: "Your Highness, what are you doing here?"

"Studying papermaking." Joseph smiled, "You want to come and take a look too?"

Mirabeau spread his hands: "Oh, you asked me to ride a carriage for most of the day to come to this remote place, is it just to study papermaking?"

"Well, this is indeed one of the things we want to talk about."

"Look, I have no interest in making paper." Mirabeau smiled and said, "Why don't you tell me directly that you are here on behalf of Archbishop Briand?"

"Of course not, he doesn't know that I'm looking for you." Joseph said seriously, "I'm here to make friends with you."

Mirabeau nodded hurriedly and said: "Yes, you are my most noble friend."

Then he changed the subject: "Of course, the Duke of Orleans and the Duke of Seville are also my friends, so I can't..."

"No, I think you are mistaken. They are your enemies."

"Ah?" Mirabeau was stunned for a moment, thinking that your wooing tactics were too cheap. He quickly shook his head and said, "No, no, we have a very good relationship."

Joseph said calmly: "They are the old aristocrats. And you are the capital aristocrats. You are natural enemies!"

"What, capital aristocracy?"

Joseph explained to him: "The so-called old nobility are those who own large areas of land and manor, and use food and land rent as their main source of income.

"As for the capital aristocrats, they are like you. Most of their family assets are in industry or trade, and their income depends on making profits."

Mirabeau nodded. He seemed to have heard similar theories: "But we are still friends."

"The focus of your conflict lies in labor force and the demand for the environment!" Joseph said, "The old aristocracy needs labor force to farm the land. They hope that there will be manors everywhere and a few cities for them to enjoy.

"The capital aristocracy needs labor force to enter workshops or drive merchant ships. They hope that the more cities the better, and only a few manors can produce enough food.

"Your contradiction is irreconcilable. The old aristocracy is hindering your development, and you want to destroy the paradise of the old aristocracy!"

Mirabeau was stunned again and shook his head subconsciously: "No..."

Joseph smiled and said: "I know you are forming an alliance now and want to gain more power."

Mirabeau was startled and waved his hands hurriedly: "No, it's not like that!"

Joseph interrupted him with a smile: "Suppose you overthrow the royal family, of course this is impossible. Assuming that, what do you think will happen next?"

 "What?"

"A fight to the death between the old and new nobles. A fight to the death!"

Joseph thought to himself: I have read history. After the great fate, you slaughtered the old nobles until not even the dregs were left.

Mirabeau was silent. He carefully deduced in his mind and found that it was indeed what the crown prince said - without the king, the two forces would definitely fall into a fight until one party completely lost its strength and power.

When Joseph saw that his expression became loose, he began to bring in private goods: "The royal family will always need nobles to help them manage the country. From the royal family's perspective, the old and new nobles just develop in different ways."

Mirabeau murmured with some fear: "I really don't understand what you are talking about?"

Joseph continued: "Only the royal family can help you remove the obstacles faced by the capital aristocracy!"

Joseph thought to himself, of course you can also rely on bourgeois destiny to eliminate it, but what can I tell you about this?

 "ah?"

"For example, the Crown could introduce the Companies Act.

"Including stipulating who is the representative of the company, oh, that is, the person who can exercise company power on behalf of the company.

"How companies are established, broken up, merged...

"There are also how the company's equity is issued, distributed, and transferred...

"The scope and liability of corporate debts..."

Mirabeau's eyes widened when he heard a series of modern company concepts - these were considered common sense in later generations, but in the early days of the Industrial Revolution, they were extremely valuable advanced experiences.

As a representative of the capital aristocracy, Mirabeau attached great importance to the development of industrial industry and was very aware of the problems France faced in this regard. It can be said that if there is such a law now, the production efficiency of workshops in France will be greatly improved!

Joseph glanced at his expression and continued: "There is also the Patent Law.

"For example, you design an efficient machine or a very popular fashion, but it is copied by others before you make much money.

"Gradually, everyone is unwilling to innovate, but is desperately trying to lower the cost of old industries, and in the end no one can make money.

"But if there is a "Patent Law", after you apply for a patent for an invention, others can only use it by paying, otherwise they will be heavily fined..."

Mirabeau's eyes suddenly lit up, this was exactly what he needed!

He really wanted to invest money to improve the technology of his workshop, but he had been holding back because he was afraid of giving others an advantage.

If there is a "Patent Law", he can quickly improve his competitiveness, even better than the damn British!

Joseph continued to throw bait: "By the way, there are also "Financial Law", "Contract Law" and so on..."

After he introduced the meaning of these laws, he looked at Mirabeau and said, "Do you think the old nobles will support the emergence of these laws?"

Before Mirabeau could answer, he took the lead and said: "No!

"Only with the promotion of the royal family can these laws be quickly formed and help France's industries develop rapidly!"